White House adviser won’t say Obama would veto short-term hike

{mosads}Scarborough pressed on the matter, asking Sperling if Obama would veto a six-month boost to the debt limit. Sperling said the president opposed it, but did not say if it would be vetoed.

“I think the president’s been pretty clear that he does not find that acceptable, but we’re not going to start this morning doing hypothetical veto threats of legislation that could hypothetically get there,” he said. “We’re starting this morning saying, ‘Let’s get constructive.’ “

In his national address Monday night, the president slammed any short-term hike to the debt limit, saying it would allow Republicans to hold the economy captive as they demand more cuts. He added that a short-term hike might not be sufficient to satisfy ratings agencies to maintain the nation’s AAA credit rating.

“This is no way to run the greatest country on Earth. It’s a dangerous game that we’ve never played before, and we can’t afford to play it now,” Obama said.